Winner of the Montserrat Ordóñez Prize 2018
This book provides an original and exciting analysis of Colombian women's writing and its relationship to feminist history from the 1970s to the present. In a period in which questions surrounding women and gender are often sidelined in the academic arena, it argues that feminism has been an important and intrinsic part of contemporary Colombian history. Focusing on understudied literary and non-literary texts written by Colombian women, it traces the particularities of Colombian feminism, showing how it has been closely entwined with left-wing politics and the country's history of violence. This book therefore rethinks the place of feminism in Latin American history and its relationship to feminisms elsewhere, challenging many of the predominant critical paradigms used to understand Latin American literature and culture.
1 Introduction - Modernity's Rebel Daughters.- 2 La Violencia, Postmodernity and Feminism: the nonsynchronicity of Albalucía Ángel.- 3 "Ni Engels, ni Freud, ni Reich": Marvel Moreno as Boom/post-Boom Writer.- 4 Una voz antifeminista? María Mercedes Carranza, Public Intellectual and "Postmodern" Poet.- 5 Testimonio in a Post-revolutionary Era: the Writings of Female Ex-combatants.- 6 Sexual Difference in Times of War: the Poetry of Piedad Morales and the Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres.- 7 Conclusion.- Bibliography.- Index.
Cherilyn Elston researches Colombian history, culture, and politics. She completed her doctorate in Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK, and currently works in the NGO sector on human rights and transitional justice in Colombia.
"This book would appeal to graduate students, the academic community and those with an interest in feminism and Latin America." (Pascale Baker, Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Vol. 97 (8), October, 2020)
"Women's Writing in Colombia is a valuable contribution to the field because it provides readers with an overview of the most relevant contemporary women writers in Colombia ... . The well-researched and analytical connections between historical events and women's literary production reveals the link between history and feminism. This valuable approach contextualizes the field inside the Colombian literary canon." (Gina Ponce de León, Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, Vol. 37 (2), 2018)
